Nosey cat gone missing

by Adam
(Weymouth, UK)

I last saw my cat a 2 year old bengal x on Thursday 08/09/11 its now Monday 12/09/11 it was his birthday on 11/09/11 :(. I have put up posters and flyers but to no avail. He was seen next door in the bedroom on Saturday over night where he would sometimes go if he wanted. But even since then i know he is in the area but wont return to my calls for him. He hasn’t got a collar on but is chipped he is also neutered. Do you think he is likely to have found a "better" home? i don’t know what’s wrong with this one. (he will be getting a collar if he comes back. Should i keep him in and retrain him if he comes back? a.vallins@hotmail.co.uk

Reply
Hi
Well some cats just have the wanderlust in them and no matter what you do they will continue to go exploring. A cat can have a very large territory and depending on where you live can be up to a mile away if there are open fields etc.


Or course you don’t know if someone out there thinks he is a stray and may have taken him in and perhaps he can’t get back. I have this issue with one o my cats, i can’t put a collar on him as it lasts about 2 days if I’m lucky and I’m sure someone is feeding him and keeping him inside their house some days.

All you can do is to keep putting the posters up so that if someone has thought he was a stray they will know different.

Also ask all your neighbours to check their out buildings in case he has got trapped inside one of those.

Cats are very smart creatures and they have a strong will to survive. They also know which side their bread is buttered on and as long as they have a good home to return to where they know they will get food and comfort they will return if they can. So keep putting food outside the back door for him and calling him. Also you could put out something which smells of him, like a old blanket. They have a very good sense of smell and this may help them rediscover home.

When he returns you could give him a few days inside to help him re-establish where his home is but there are no guarantees that this will stop him wandering off. As I say some cats just can’t help themselves.
Please see this page for more on los cats
lost-cats.html
Best wishes kate

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